The present invention relates to a hand tool for expanding an end of a pipe preparatory to inserting a fitting therein, and then pressing a retaining sleeve over the joined pipe and fitting.
Pipe expanders are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,551 shows a pipe expander that uses a pin with a tapered end, driven axially into the end of a pipe, to drive an expander head radially outward against the inside surface of a cylindrical pipe, thereby expanding the pipe radially.
One problem with pipe expanders of the type shown in the '551 patent is that the expander head is not easily removed for replacement with another expander head suitable to a pipe with a different inside diameter. The expander head of the '551 patent is bolted to a front plate of the tool by bolts 46, which must be removed to change the expander head.
A different type of pipe expander is marketed by Rehau, Inc., P.O. Box 1706, Leesburg, Va. 20177. This type of pipe expander is used with Rehau's proprietary EVERLOC® fittings and RAUPEX® cross-linked polyethylene pipe. As can be seen in FIG. 1, an EVERLOC® fitting F is inserted into an end of the RAUPEX® pipe P after the pipe P is expanded by the pipe expander. The nature of the RAUPEX® material is that it returns to its original shape after being expanded, thereby gripping the inserted fitting. The pipe expander utilizes interchangeable expander heads that are easily screwed on and off of the tool.
Next, as seen in FIG. 2, a proprietary EVERLOC® sleeve S is pressed over the end of the pipe P containing the fitting F, thereby further securing the pipe and fitting. A second proprietary tool, marketed by Rehau, known as a manual compression tool, is used to compress the sleeve onto the pipe and fitting.
A problem with the Rehau EVERLOC® system is that two separate tools are needed to complete the joint: a pipe expander to expand the pipe, and a separate compression tool to compress the sleeve onto the pipe and fitting.
A second problem with the Rehau system is that both the pipe expander and the manual compression tool are large, bulky, and require two hands for operation. Because of the large size, they cannot easily be used with pipes that are in close apposition to a wall or floor. Also, they are too large to be easily carried on a workman's tool belt.
There is a need for a hand tool that addresses the above problems. The tool should allow one-handed operation, be small enough to carry on a tool belt, and have easily interchangeable heads.